clean all the dirt/grime/**** off my engine and out of my engine bay? I tried searching, and there's too much b.s. to weed through. I want to get 20 years of grime and crap off of there... How should I do it?

 

Rent a STEAM CLEANER!! No joke.. Get and industrial p-washer with steam function, it will look like new...

 

agred that is the best way and your engine will look real real pretty! But if you are on a budget go down to the local parts store and pick up some cheapy brakecleen(sp) and use that to remove all the dirt and grime then once you are done get some simple green and spray over the entire engine. I use simple green on my dirtbike and it stays nice and pretty and I purposefully ride that in mud! And the ALuminum parts will stay nice and clean! I hate having to re-clean aluminum if I can aviod it!

Either way use simple green...greates product ever invented!

 

whao hold on....so your not suppose to use dynamite.....................damn that uncle of mine!!

 

I find the best thing for Oil Grime is Brake Cleaner, and a rag.

 

^^^and one hell of a lot of elbow grease...trust me way back, when I used to work in the detail shop the steam cleaner was a lot easier! Now that I have not worked there for years I have gotten used to cleaning my engines the hard way

 

but seriously though...a steam cleaner huh...hmm i may have to try that out...i have never cleaned my engine in any way shape or form...what do i have to do before i start cleaning the engine...do i cover anything???

 

Yes make sure that your distributor is covered. Don't want any water getting in there. That is all that we did at the detail shop for the most part. If you use small plastic bags you can get a decent tent around the important electrical parts. Also be smart...do not get right up on the parts and spay the crap out of them! It is useless and will only cause damage.

 

To clean the engine, simply start spraying whatever random fluid you're using (a cleaning fluid, Only!) onto the parts you want to clean.

I would advise removing the entire intake stack (including carb) and clean that seperately, as well as the rat's nest and ANYTHING ELSE that can get in the way or cut your hands if you slip.

As for cleaning agents, brake cleaner/fluid and simple green (brake crap first) do the trick.
Afterwards, a good polishing of anything that looks like it was once shiney (or even just a simple sand down) will do miracles.

For really tough spots, Leave the fluid on the spot overnight. This will allow the cleaner to break up the bonds that the grease/blood/Mexican guy selling tacos is holding to your engine.

 

Oh, yeah, what Z mentioned is a good idea

In a pinch, if you don't have cleaning agent, but have a "Do it yourself" carwash stall near you, they usually have an "engine cleaning agent."

That, used in combination with the pressure washer, can be a vital tool for catching any of those REALLY stubborn spots (or if Paco hasn't left your engine bay yet)

 

Oh man you just triggered something for me. Here in the NW there are a few car wash places that actually have steam cleaners...dang can't remember where they are. Never really had to use one before.

If worst comes to worst you can always pay someone to do the work. I think that we charged 65. Man that was years ago though.

 

Yeah, there's a few steam washers here. I personally make my OWN steam washer (the hot motor creates steam when the cold water hits it, usually.)

 

Use a pressure washer with the hose hooked up to your "hot water" tap... Simple green/engine brite soak overnight and you should be golden..

 

This is how I did it. Took a while, but the results were pretty awesome in my opinion.
https://www.rx7club.com//showthread....t=finally+pics

 

Definitely not the easiest.....

http://www.godofredo.com/mound/home.html

PS: brownmound.com registered and live soon, with all new updates on the body restoration project!

right on.

 

Nice restoration site, brownmound! Here's where I documented my MGB restoration:
http://64mgb.home.mchsi.com/
And here's where I'm documenting my work on my '85 GS:
http://85rx7.home.mchsi.com/

When I did the MG, having everything documented on the web was invaluable when it came time to put things back together, especially after I ran the network into the garage.

Oh, and the best way to clean the engine compartment? I'ver always had good luck just using a power washer with a degreaser.

Rich

 

^^^did you use a steam pressure washer? I also forgot to mention that we used a acid base the bubbled and removed all the places that had really thick grime and dirt. I don't know where you would get it though. It was really nasty stuff when it hit your hands. If you weren't wearing gloves there was a good possibility that it would burn. I want to say it was hydrochloric acid...but it has been so long that I can't remember. The only problem is that it is not good for aluminum. So I would not suggest spraying it into your engine bay.

 

Where can I rent one? Home Depot or something?

 

I have never had to rent one but I would go to a tool rental place. Here in washington they are all over. Most of the time they are fairly small outfits and offer pretty good prices. Check for a lew rents... that is the largest one around here that I can think of. Personally if your engine bay is extremely dirty I would just take it to a reputable detail shop. Unless you are going to use it for other things you will probably run close to $40 and you can get it done at a detail shop for close to 70. Hey and you get to drink their coffee and eat their cookies!

 

The pressure washer sounds like the best bet, but I've done well with a couple cans of Gunk engine degreaser and a coin-op self-serve wash bay.

But you'll need to protect the primary and secondary ignition leads and distributor. Since I wanted these items cleaned as well I wiped them down well beforehand and then sprayed them with Plastic Coat wire protector. If you do this, make sure your ignition coils and associated wiring also get the same treatment. When spraying out the engine bay try not to spray directly into the alternator for obvious reasons.